Leopold Beck

Leopold Beck (1881-1944) was an Oberst in the Heer of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was killed in action in a French Resistance ambush in Paris in 1944.

Biography
Leopold Beck was born in Munich, Bavaria, German Empire in 1881, and he came from a distinguished Catholic family. He served in the Imperial German Army during World War I, during which he was wounded at the Battle of Verdun in 1916. During the Interwar period, he became involved with the Nazi Party due to his staunch support for German nationalism, and he became a colonel (Oberst) in Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht in 1936.

Beck was given command of an armored division which was stationed in occupied Paris during World War II, keeping the people of La Villette in a constant state of fear. From 1940 to 1944, the security situation deteriorated as the French Resistance turned La Villette into a no-go zone for the Wehrmacht. One day, Beck and his two Waffen-SS bodyguards were ambushed by the French Resistance fighter Sean Devlin in a courtyard in La Villette, and Devlin killed the three of them with a submachine gun. Beck's death helped to weaken the Nazis' control over Paris.